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Bill Herrion says he never begins a season by perusing the
schedule and tabulating East Carolina's potential win total.
The fourth-year Pirates basketball coach prefers a more
shortsighted approach, one which he believes, in the end, will help guide
his team toward a longer-range objective — life in the postseason.
"Our goal here is we want to win every single game we play,"
Herrion said. "We really take one game at a time.
"We're trying to prepare for March. Everything we do here is
trying to prepare this basketball team for March. Hopefully we can look back
in March and say, 'Thank God, we got off to a great start this year, we're
going to postseason play.'"
At 6-0, East Carolina is off to its best start since 1954, a
mark that has produced the type of fan frenzy more common to the neighboring
ACC schools along Tobacco road.
It may seem a little strange to some for a school known more for
its gridiron culture, but ECU is beginning to takes its hoops quite
seriously, too. Just check with high-profile roundball programs Louisville,
Marquette, and more recently, Ole Miss, and they'll confirm it.
Now, Herrion says he is ready for the program to take the
step from pulling the occasional shocker to becoming an annual contender
come tournament selection time.
"Our aspiration is to get to postseason play," Herrion said.
"We want to do it as quickly as we possibly can. I hope it's this year, but
it's too early to tell that right now. Right now, we're off to a great
start."
Fueling the Pirates' quick rise up the Sagarin power ratings
— ECU currently checks in at No. 37 — is a ball-hawking defense. Long one of
the hallmarks of Herrion-coached teams, East Carolina is yielding just 56.5
points per game, a statistic that ranks the Pirates 17th nationally. The
Pirates' opponents are shooting just 36 percent from the floor, while
hitting a dismal 29 percent from behind the arc.
"We're winning games with defense," Herrion said. "Once we
start buckling down and we start digging in and getting stops, that allows
us to play on offense."
Offensively, the Pirates have gotten much needed production
from the perimeter, which was a glaring weakness last season. Leading the
way is a pair of newcomers, junior college transfer Derrick Wiley and
freshman sensation Belton Rivers.
Wiley leads the Pirates, averaging 14.5 points per contest,
while Rivers, a sharpshooter from Atlanta, is tossing in an even ten.
Herrion continues to get consistent production from his
veteran horses down low — forward Gabriel Mikulas and Erroyl Bing — and he
will likely count on their seasoning to avoid any potential let downs as the
year progresses.
"I know they're playing for a coach that's not going to
allow that," Herrion said. "I told the kids in the locker room, 'If you feel
you need to take a night off on Saturday, then I think the greatest
motivator is, you can sit on the bench.' We've got guys that can play.
"If someone is not ready to play on Saturday night, then
they can sit and watch the next guy play. Who are we to have a let down? We
haven't had a winning season here."
From the looks of things, that's about to change.
Hitting the boards an issue
Despite the Pirates' perfect record, Herrion says there are
plenty of issues that need addressing. One potential weakness is rebounding.
"We really struggled on the glass at Old Dominion," Herrion
said. "We got out-rebounded at Old Dominion 24-9 on the offensive glass and
won the game. We were very fortunate. We've got to get better rebounding the
basketball."
For the season, the Pirates are dead even with their
opponents in rebounding, but have been beaten on the glass in each of their
last two games. The Monarchs held a 46-29 advantage while Virginia Tech won
the battle of the boards 34-28.
According to Herrion, the Pirates' rebounding woes can be
corrected if they concentrate on fundamentals.
"We're not going and finding people," Herrion said. "We're
just running to the rim. It's a concern. It's an issue that we've got to
address."
Shoring up the bench
Another potential problem that could emerge is a lack of
depth.
Against Virginia Tech, Herrion stuck primarily with a
six-man rotation, even though he says he won't be able to rely on that
formula for long.
"We can't play six guys all year," Herrion said. "The way
the (Virginia Tech) game unfolded, the group that was playing was just
getting it done.
"We've got to get deeper on the bench. I'm really concerned
about that."
Thus far, the Pirates haven't gotten the type of production
they had hoped from Jonathon Moore, while guards Luke Mackay and Devin
Boddie have played sparingly. Freshman jumping jack Corey Rouse has provided
occasional minutes, but has not made a huge impact on the floor.
While Herrion knows it will be difficult to maintain success
without tapping the bench more frequently, he did note the Pirates are
well-conditioned, which is why they haven't appeared winded at crunch time.
"We are in good shape," Herrion said. "Jim Whitten has done
a phenomenal job with our kids since August with their conditioning and
their strength.
"Last year, we went to Virginia Tech and physically, we
couldn't play with them. It was men against boys. But I think we held our
own against Mississippi and Virginia Tech. I don't think there was much of a
difference in the size of the kids."
